Hi everyone! We had so much in the way of photos and information that we thought that we would start a little blog so we might share it all with you more easily.
So...Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! At the end of 2005 we look back and are in awe of how the Lord has cared for us. We are 3 and 1/2 years married and loving everyday together more and more.
This year has been a tremendous year of growth for the two of us. We have now come to a year and 1/2 living in our 450 square foot apartment in Wilmore, KY. John has successfully made it halfway through his Masters of Divinity program here at Asbury. John has been evaluating doctoral programs both stateside and in the United Kingdom. This semester he was asked to be a teaching and grading assistant for two different classes.
In January, Grace was promoted to manage the Special Needs program at A Helping Hand Adoption Agency for children from China. This position certainly has increased my responsibilities. I count it a great privledge to find families for children with special needs. As many of you know, I had the tremendous opportunity to travel with 16 families to pick up their babies in China. This was a trip that cannot be described in words. To see the meeting of an orphan and their family that has been waiting about a year to go get the child is just awesome.
After John's school and my work, dancing is the next activity that consumes our time. While we were dating we had talked about taking ballroom dancing lessons. That never happened, until this year. John suggested that we enroll in a couple classes for our Christmas gift to each other last year. We took the "first step" and soon became hooked. We have been taking both private and group lessons for nearly a year now, and we have signed up for two more years of dancing fun. We have learned dances all the way from tango to swing. I was able to revert back to my childhood as the dance studio offered ballet and hip-hop classes for a time. H ustle is John's favorite, as he enjoys the "Saturday Night Fever" atmosphere (and he likes to fling me around), and I prefer the Latin dances like salsa and samba. This has been a hobby (and exercise) that the two of us have loved to do together. If you have ever thought of trying dancing we highly recommend it.
We continue to enjoy going to Southland Christian Church and have been blessed by the sound teaching and awesome praise and worship. Every weekend we gather with several thousand people to exalt the Lord and thank Him for who He is and what He has done in our lives.
Living in KY has given us some opportunities to see members of our family that we have not been able to see while living in OK. We have made a couple of trips to visit John's grandparents, Aunt, Uncle, and cousins. For Thanksgiving we returned to our honeymoon spot in Chesapeake, VA and enjoyed spending time with my Aunt Elaine and Uncle Roy.
This Christmas we will be driving the 12 hour trip to Tulsa to spend time with the Sheltons, Jones, and friends. We won't mention how old the folks are, but my brothers are now 23 (Patrick), 17 (Kenneth), and 13 (Adam).
Just when the Christmas festivities come to an end the wedding party starts. Jenny Beth, John's little sister, is getting married to Raymond Foyer on January 7. I have the privilege of being Jenny's matron of honor, and John and Joey (John's younger brother) will be ushers. We look forward to the time we will have to spend with all our family during the celebration.
This Christmas season we want to remind you of our love for you and the Lord's love for you. We are blessed by our many friends and family that continue to support us in our future endeavors. We pray that 2006 brings great joy and peace to all of you.
Love to All,
John and Grace
P.S. We are changing our telephone number to cell phones and discontinuing our home phone. Please be on the look-out for an email containing our new numbers. Our address, however, is still the same.
